Valve’s first attempt at Steam-focused consoles was unsuccessful, but an entirely different strategy could be tried again. Ars Technica and SteamDBs Pavel Djundik According to Valve, Valve is developing a Nintendo Switch-inspired handheld Steam gaming PC nicknamed SteamPal.
Unlike steam engines, Valve supposedly developed this portable PC in-house. It would be built with an AMD or Intel system-on-chip, and would likely run your game library on Linux using a Windows title compatibility layer. “At least” one prototype is wider than the switch to accommodate a number of controls. AT THE said, including one or more thumb-sized touchpads. It would even dock to a monitor via USB-C.
Valve hasn’t confirmed anything about the Steam PC, but Djunkdik noticed a reference to SteamPal in the code. Co-founder of the company, Gabe Newell, also hinted on a New Zealand panel that people would get a “better idea” of Valve’s console plans by late 2021.
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AT THEThe sources also indicated that Valve intended to ship the Steam PC before the end of the year, although tipsters couldn’t narrow down prices.
A Switch-like Steam PC would be a huge gamble for Valve. Steam Machines failed for several reasons, including a lack of games (some Steam Machines ran Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS) and third-party vendors who often sold Steam boxes alongside traditional desktops. It was often easier to buy a Windows gaming PC with the full software than it was to compromise on a Steam machine designed for your living room.
SteamPal could avoid some of these pitfalls. The emulation could help the mini Steam PC run more games even if portable hardware limited the type of games it could handle. Valve’s custom design would give him full control over the experience. More importantly, that Switch-Alike would step into a relatively vacant field – there aren’t many mainstream handheld PCs of any sort, let alone those designed for gaming. The valve could still fail, but it wouldn’t have that long chances to begin with.
